Trade unions determined to stage mass protests

The Confederal Committee of the National Confederation of Trade Unions of Moldova expresses its concern about the worsening of the socioeconomic situation of the population, including of the salary earners who are trade union members, caused by the exaggerated prices of the main products and services. The trade unions threaten to mount protests if the authorities do not take measures to remedy the situation, Info-Prim Neo reports, quoting a statement issued by the Confederation. The statement says that the pays of most of the salary earners, which are their only source of income in the family, are below any labor standards and practices. The salaries of the employees working in agriculture, hunting, forestry, construction sector, trade and service sector in June were under the average pay in economy. They were paid with delay and the arrears totaled 131 million lei. The Confederation considers that the policies on salaries and pensions are not correlated with the policies regulating the prices and tariffs of the most important products and services. The trade unions warned the authorities about this for numerous times. The situation is expected to worsen after the gas charges for end-users are increased as this will lead to a rise in the prices of other goods and services. The National Confederation of Trade Unions demands immediately convening the national commission for collective consultations and negotiations so that the social partners sign a memorandum envisioning increasing the minimum salary per country and the guaranteed minimum pay in the real sector up to the minimum subsistence level of persons able to work, drafting a bill on prices, toughening up the penalties for illegally using labor, etc. It says that if the authorities do nothing to protect the population, it will stage mass protests.